Like a Shooting Star
by DancerInTheDark101
Summary: Tag to 2x07 – Molon Labe. The 2nd Mass deal with the repercussions from the attack on the hospital, and the subsequent decisions that were made. Snapshots of how they're dealing with it all.


**Hi all! First off, what did everyone think of the latest episode? OMG I loved it! XD And the ending… wow, what a way to end an episode. So if you haven't seen the episode, this fic contains spoilers.**

**This is set in 9 different parts – 1 part per character, dealing with how they might be feeling after everything that has happened in the last few episodes. (Karen returning, the battle at the hospital, the issues with Ben etc).**

**The parts include Tom, Hal, Matt, Lourdes, Weaver, Maggie, Pope, Dr. Glass/Anne and Ben.**

**I hope that I've done the characters justice and haven't gone too far off script with their mannerisms etc. ENJOY!**

**ENJOY**

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**LIKE A SHOOTING STAR**

**DANCERINTHEDARK101**

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_Tag to 2x07 – Molon Labe. The 2nd Mass deal with the repercussions from the attack on the hospital, and the subsequent decisions that were made. Snapshots of how they're dealing with it all._

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**PART 1 – TOM**

Tom watched as his middle son walked away from the Second Massachusetts, grey bag slung over one shoulder and his gun slung over the other. He didn't think he was doing the right decision by letting Ben go, but his son had seemed so sure of himself; so sure that he could make a difference doing things this way. Yes, he may have made some mistakes but he was trying to atone for them and he felt the best way was to leave the 2nd Mass – to protect both himself and everyone else there.

So he stood there as his son walked away. He kept his eyes on Ben until he vanished from sight knowing full well that it could have been the very last time he ever saw the sandy-haired boy. Feeling the emotions welling up inside again, Tom struggled to get himself under control. He'd already lost his son once. To lose him again… and this time he was the one who allowed it to happen.

Had he done the right thing? Would Ben last out in the wilderness by himself, completely surrounded by danger with ne help nearby?

Running a hand through his hair, Tom fought back the tears. He distantly heard Weaver calling out to everyone that they were moving out – towards Charleston. Hopefully it was there that he would see Ben once again. Taking one last look at the spot where he had last seen his son Tom sent a silent plea to whomever; a plea to look after his son and bring him home safe.

He slung the rifle back over his shoulder and made his way back to the convoy, his eyes locking with those of his eldest son. God, what was he going to tell Hal and Matt? He knew that Matt had reconnected with Ben straight away when they had rescued him from the Skitters, but it had taken Hal a lot longer to warm to the new Ben – the one with the super strength and fighting instincts.

They had just started to be brothers again, as Tom had witnessed in the hall of the hospital only hours earlier. And now he was going to have to tell them that they may never see their brother again. They'd never even got to say goodbye.

"Boys, there's something I need to tell you…"

**PART 2 – HAL**

It was the dead of night and Hal Mason sat by himself. He was leaning against a nearby tree, gun positioned in front of him as he stared ahead into nothing. The convoy of cars and trucks were parked on the road some distance away.

He leant back, lightly smacking his head on the trunk. He repeated that several times as he sat there, his mind spinning with all the things that had happened earlier that day. From the new sider-bugs and Jamil's subsequent death to Maggie kissing him and then Ben leaving…

He took in a deep shuddering breath as he remembered the conversation his father had had with him and Matt earlier that day. Matt had been telling him all about what he would do if the spider-bugs came back now that their dad was allowing him to have a gun. He remembered laughing at something Matt had said, but then their dad came over and said that there was something he needed to tell them.

Ben had left the 2nd Mass. He'd voluntarily left of his own accord into the wilderness with no back-up… and their father had let him.

Hal had been furious. He'd shot up from where he was seated on the back of the truck and started to move towards where Tom had said Ben had gone. He'd struggled against his father's hold as he was held back from searching for his little brother. It wasn't until he heard Matt's sobs that Hal backed down.

"Why?" he'd asked, pleaded even. "Why the hell would you let a fifteen-year-old kid go off by himself! You know what's out there! You know that they know he's been in contact with that Skitter! And he's not just any fifteen-year-old kid, Dad! _He's your son!_"

Matt had started crying even more after that. Hal had watched as his father picked him up and held him close, murmuring something in his ear. A small crowd had gathered around, drawn in by the yelling. Hal couldn't care less. He was so angry at his father. Fists clenching, Hal decided to leave before he did something he would regret – like punch his dad in the face.

Now, hours later, Hal had calmed down a little. Yeah, he was still pissed at his dad for letting Ben go off by himself. He could have at least sent one person after him for some back-up! But even as he thought that, Hal knew it would have been useless. Ben would have been long gone by then – his extra strength and stamina would have already taken him far away from the convoy.

But it didn't make the fact that he was gone any easier.

"Hey…"

Glancing up, Hal shifted over slightly a Maggie slowly sat down beside him. Her hand was still placed protectively over her right side where the bullet had hit only days before hand.

"I heard about Ben," she started. "How are you holding up?"

Hal didn't answer right away. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer and smiled when she let him. Their relationship was a strange one. After Karen had been taken and later turned into a psycho bitch, Hal had mixed feelings. Karen had been his first love, but he'd really connected to Maggie. While they may have not had a lot in common, they got along great and there was definitely some kind of connection there.

And when Karen had shown up again, Hal was sure that he'd seen some kind of jealous glint in Maggie's eyes. It may have been microscopically small, but it was there. And then she'd kissed him. That changed _everything_.

"Uh, I guess I'm handling it. I almost hit my old man earlier when he told me," he stated. "I just can't believe he let his own fifteen-year-old son take off on his own! I mean, yeah Ben's got some amazing fighting skills and has all those Skitttery super powers, but…" he trailed off, running a hand down his face.

"But?"

He turned to look at Maggie and he knew that there were unshed tears in his eyes, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to care.

"But…" he paused, gathering his thoughts. "He's still a kid. He's my kid brother and I've only just got him back. I just want him to be okay."

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Hal. He's a strong kid; resilient, has his head on straight. From what I've heard he left to keep us all safe, to try and prove this Skitter Resistance rumour – to try to find a way to beat them. He's had a lot going on lately, but he's taken all that it's given and thrown it straight back. You should be proud, Hal."

Thinking over Maggie's words, Hal found himself agreeing with them. He then leaned over and kissed her. And for a few moments, they were lost in their own little world.

_In the blink of an eye_

_I never got to say goodbye…_

**PART 3 – MATT**

The youngest Mason boy was curled up on the front seat of a truck, pretending to be asleep. His dad was driving the truck, while Hal was out on scout duty ahead of the moving convoy. And Ben… his older brother was gone. He had left earlier that day so that they could all be safe.

Being the youngest, Matt had always been heavily protected. He had hated it when Ben had first been taken. Hal had started to close off from him, instead focusing heavily on his girlfriend Karen and his fighter's duties. His dad had been busy with being Captain Weaver's second-in-command and Matt had been left by himself.

And then they'd brought Ben back. Right away, Matt had known that his older brother was different from the Ben he'd known before. But underneath all the changes was still his brother; the brother he used to annoy and play with when no one else was available. Being six years younger than his next sibling was tough at times. Ben was a self-proclaimed math geek. He'd loved school and had wanted to be some kind of scientist or something when he was older. He couldn't have been more different from Hal. Hal _hated_ school. He was a jock through-and-through.

His older brother's had always teased each other relentlessly. Hal had teased Ben for being a geek and Ben would turn around and tease Hal about only playing sports to get the girls.

That never happened anymore. Ben was too much like Hal for them to argue like that. When they did argue, it wasn't friendly.

It had only been hours since Ben had left, but he already missed him so much. Lying in the truck, Matt forgot that he was pretending to be asleep and let out a sob before curling up into a tighter ball.

"Matt?"

Attempting to stifle the sobs, Matt pushed himself into a sitting position. Tears leaked from his eyes as he looked over at his dad.

"Come here, kiddo."

Accepting the invitation, Matt scooted over closer to his father and wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug and buried his face in his jacket.

"Are we ever gonna see Ben again?" his voice was muffled by the material. A few seconds later he felt his dad's hand rest on the top of his head, his fingers threading through the curls in a comforting manner.

"Yeah, I'm sure that we will, Matt. Your brother's strong. He's gonna be just fine…"

Matt didn't have the heart to tell his dad that he sounded like he was trying to convince himself of the very same thing.

_Oh I miss you now_

_I wish you could see_

_Just how much your memory_

_Will always mean to me…_

**PART 4 – LOURDES**

Lourdes stared at the simple wooden cross, tears falling from her eyes and slipping down her cheeks. Jamil was gone. He'd left her alone; alone to face the horrors of the world. He'd been the one shining light in her life, the protection she had craved since the invasion had begun. He had been the only one to really understand her. And now he was gone.

She'd never forget the sight of the spider-bug bursting forth from his mouth in a shower of blood. She'd never forget the pain he had been in, knowing that something was horribly wrong but never knowing the truth. Those _bugs_ had invaded his body and torn him apart from the inside out. He'd never stood a chance. And he'd been coming to get her, bring her to safety. She'd never forgive herself.

Pressing her hand together in semblance of a prayer, Lourdes prayed to a religion she was losing hope in. She prayed that Jamil was in a better place – a place where evil hadn't touched, where death hadn't tainted every living thing in some way or another.

Captain Weaver was currently saying a few words. They had stopped a few days drive from the hospital in order to have a memorial service for those killed at the attack on the hospital. They hadn't been able to bring the bodies, so a grave had been dug in the nearby treeline and the dead had been buried close to where their last moments on earth had occurred.

The memorial service was a nice thought, but Lourdes couldn't help but feel that it was meaningless. A few words weren't going to bring the dead back. They wouldn't bring the Berserker back who had been killed in front of them as a message, nor would it bring back her love. They were dead and gone, and nothing would ever change that.

As she'd said to Anne hours after leaving the hospital – no matter what you do, or who you are…sooner or later something terrible will happen to you.

"Lourdes?"

Breaking from her thoughts, Lourdes looked up to see that most of those gathered for the memorial had left. There were only a few left behind, staring hopelessly at the crosses as if they held the answers to the universe. Even Pope was still behind, standing beside his fellow Berserkers as they mourned the loss of one of their own.

Anne was next to her, concern written over her face. Pushing back her emotions, she dropped her hands to her sides. Moving forward, she placed a hand on the horizontal bar of the wooden cross and whispered one last thing to her love.

"I'm fine," she choked out as she swept past those still gathered, heading towards where the med bus was parked.

She headed straight to the back of the bus before pulling the curtains to allow her some privacy. It wasn't until then that Lourdes allowed herself to cry.

_You were always there_

_And like a shining light_

_On my darkest days_

_You were there to guide me_

_In the blink of an eye_

_I never got to say goodbye…_

**PART 5 – WEAVER**

Captain Weaver stood on the back of one of the trucks, staring into the distance. His breath was misting in front of him; a testament to just how cold it was getting. They had just packed up and started moving again after the memorial service for those killed in action.

Truth be told, ever since they had left the high school everything had turned to shit. Tom Mason had vanished aboard an alien mother-ship and they had been cornered at the battle of Fitchburg losing hundreds of lives in the process. For three months they had made do with what they had. Managing to set up successful ambushes had been a relief, but it would never have lasted forever.

Hal and Ben Mason had really stepped up in those three months, taking on far more responsibility than was ever expected from them. And then Tom had reappeared, shot, but alive. Since then they had been on the run.

Death had followed them everywhere. From Jimmy's accident (Weaver didn't blame Ben. The kid blamed himself enough for the both of them) to the latest attack… Weaver was sick of burying friends and comrades. It was inevitable in a war, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

He was worried about Tom. With all this business with his son going on, he hoped that Tom would be able to keep a level head and act accordingly. When Tom had shot the Fish-head, Weaver could have killed him. It was a rash, stupid thing to do – a move done solely on emotions. It was something they couldn't afford to do anymore.

Then Tom had come up to him and told him that Ben was gone. Had left the 2nd Mass in order to protect them and find out more about the Skitter Rebellion. Weaver knew that it must have been an exceedingly hard decision for Tom to have made – to let his boy go and alone at that.

He now held a high regard for Ben Mason. At first, he had been apprehensive about the boy, especially when it became evident that the spikes in his spine were the reason for his drastically increased strength, agility and stamina. His doubt had increased much more when Jimmy had died while he and Ben had been hunting Skitters and then the bombshell had been dropped – Ben had been in contact with the Skitters.

But from what both Tom and Hal had informed him, Ben had felt horrible about everything. The boy had admitted that he'd screwed up and he'd put everyone at risk. But now Ben was gone, alone and trying to figure out what the hell was going on his life.

It made Weaver think back to his daughter; a daughter he had thought was dead, only to show up one night. He'd never wanted to let her go. But she'd left again, knowing that she now had a duty to her boyfriend and the group of kids they had in their rag tag group. He had no idea what she was up to or whether she was even alive anymore. So he knew first-hand what Tom Mason was going through with his middle son.

As they headed towards the mythical land that was Charleston, Captain Dan Weaver knew that it was not going to be all smooth sailing to get there. More people could die, more people should show up. But no matter what, he was going to do all that he could to get the hundreds of people relying on him to Charleston.

**PART 6 – MAGGIE**

The blonde fighter winced as the wound on her side pulled. She'd been trying to keep as much pressure off the wound, but when you're fighting for your life there's only so much you can do.

She'd just come back to the convoy after finding Hal brooding against a tree. She could see clearly that he was in agony over his brother's disappearance. It was going to be a long time before Hal forgave his father fully she thought.

Resting against one of the many trucks, Maggie placed the gun on the truck bed and closed her eyes. She was definitely ready for a rest, and maybe another dose of painkillers. Deciding on the latter, she pushed off the vehicle and grabbing her weapon as she went, headed off in the direction of the med bus.

As she walked, she thought of Hal. Ever since she's first met him, she'd felt something. Being under Pope's control hadn't been easy and when they'd captured what ended up being the second-in-command of a militia unit, his son and some of their fighters, a little bit of hope had soared through her. Maybe there was a chance she would be able to get out of there.

Earning her Second Massachusetts citizenship hadn't been as hard as what she had thought it would have been. They'd all been somewhat sympathetic to her plight and over time had found herself liking everyone more and more. She still had her reservations (she wasn't about to become an open book), but she had managed to strike up some camaraderie amongst the fighters and some civilians.

But it was Hal that she had clicked with the most. Sure, there was the physical attraction because let's face it; Hal wasn't a bad looking guy. But as they fought together and spent more time together, she realised that he was more than just a pretty face.

It was revealed when he had offered to go into a Skitter nest with a harness strapped to his back to save his brother. He'd been brave in the face of the danger he knew was everywhere around the building. He knew exactly what he had to do, but hadn't faltered in the slightest. And in the end, he'd safely rescued his brother and the other kids in the group.

After that, Maggie paid closer attention to the eldest Mason boy. But it wasn't until after his father had returned that she felt close enough to him to reveal a few things about herself. It had been tough, telling him about the cancer she'd gone through when she was younger, but he'd listened and been a really good friend about it all.

Then, one day the urge to kiss him hit her. It was after his ex-girlfriend had showed up after months of being missing. She had been de-harnessed and was claiming innocence, but Maggie didn't trust her at all. Her instincts were proved true when the little bitch had tried to kill her and had ended up kidnapping Ben.

And then there was the kiss. After questioning Hal, he'd opened up and said that yeah, he was thinking about Karen. But he didn't love her anymore. Taking a huge leap of faith, she'd grabbed him and kissed him.

**PART 7 – POPE**

Pope scowled as he drove the truck towards the elusive Charleston – the supposed safe-haven from the world of aliens and violence that they had been part of for the better part of a year. Personally, Pope thought it was all bullshit, a delusion dreamed up by some whack job who thought themselves at the top of the pedestal.

But, he wasn't about to head out by himself again. He'd learned that the hard way. As much as he hated some of the decisions made in the Second Massachusetts, they'd managed to make it this far, which was something Pope never thought would have happened.

They'd been through a lot of shit over the past few months. Tom Mason disappearing and reappearing was one of the main annoyances for Pope. The man had _willingly_ got on an alien mother-ship (yeah, granted it was to supposedly save his spikey son), and then showed up three months later after being _let go_. That definitely didn't sit right with him.

Then the doctor had pulled some kind of chip out of the guy's head. That sent alarm bells ringing, but no… everyone welcomed back Sir Tom Mason with open arms. And when they'd fought over that dead kid's compass, _Pope_ had been the one to get kicked out. Figures.

As for the latest happenings… After being almost killed by a group of Fish-heads, Pope found himself back with the 2nd Mass. He'd quickly learned that the freaking mind-bender girl Karen was back, with some hidden plot to kidnap Tom's spikey kid.

After bringing back the boy _and_ a Fish-head, Pope knew things were gonna get ugly. When he'd found out about Boon's execution in front of the barricade, he'd almost lost it. Because Saint Tom Mason had decided to capture a prisoner of war, one of _his_ Berserkers was dead!

At least the Skitter-hybrid kid was gone. He'd heard through the grapevine that Ben had decided to take off, to protect the 2nd Mass from more harm because of the stupid mistakes he had made. That redeemed the kid a little in his eyes.

Now they were continuing their journey towards the magical Charleston and their supposed salvation. Pope wasn't stupid. He knew they had a long and tough road ahead of them, but he wouldn't like to face it alone so he was currently stuck with them, taking orders from Tom Mason and Captain Weaver.

Oh how he hoped Charleston had a strip joint…

**PART 8 – ANNE (DR. GLASS)**

Anne was worried about Lourdes. The young girl had suffered a devastating loss only days before hand and had since shut herself out from everyone around her. After her initial outburst, Lourdes had been quiet and withdrawn, only speaking when spoken to or when she needed to ask something about one of the patients. Anne had tried everything she could to get through to the girl, but so far nothing was working.

She was also worried about Tom. The Mason patriarch had come to her a few days before and broke down, explaining that Ben was gone –that his son had left, _alone_, for the sake of everyone in the 2nd Mass and so that he could uncover more about the so-called Skitter Resistance. And Tom had let him go.

Afterwards, she'd held him. They stayed like that for almost an hour, just in each other's arms as they tried to digest everything that had happened. With the deaths of Jamil and Boon, to Ben's departure and Hal avoiding Tom.

They'd lost so many people over the past few months. Luckily, there had been no repeat of Fitchburg, but that didn't mean that someday there wouldn't be. Every day was a battle to stay alive – a battle to avoid Skitter columns and Mech groups as they fought their way to hopefully a better place.

"Doctor Glass?"

Breaking out of her thoughts, Anne looked to the entrance of the med bus to see Maggie standing there.

"Oh, Maggie. Hi! Come on in," she greeted as she started to make her way forward. She motioned for Maggie to take a seat on one of the beds. "How's the wound? Everything okay?"

The blonde girl nodded. "Yeah, just think I could use a few painkillers. It doesn't hurt when I'm fighting because I'm too focused but when we take a rest and get the chance to wind down, that's when I know I've done too much." Maggie smirked at the admission.

Lifting up her shirt to get a better look at the wound site, Anne spoke. "You really do need to take more care of yourself, Maggie." Thankfully, the stitches were still holding and it didn't look like there was an infection setting in.

"You can lower your shirt now." Anne headed over to one of the many cupboards and pulled out two cylindrical bottles. Opening both, she took out two of each before handing them to Maggie.

"Here. There's painkillers and antibiotics," she explained when she saw the confusion written on Maggie's face. "I don't want to see that get infected. It could become a major problem if it did."

Maggie thanked her and left, leaving Anne to stand in the middle of the med bus just thankful she was still able to do her job properly.

**PART 9 – BEN**

Fighting back tears, Ben hugged his father tight before turning and walking in the direction they had just came from. To be honest, if his father knew what exactly he had in plan, he would have never had let him go.

He was heading back to the hospital. Most likely both Karen and the Overlord would be long gone, but that's not why Ben was heading back there. He was hoping that some form of the Resistance was in the area and could point him in the right direction. If nothing came from the hospital, he was going to head to the abandoned airport and try again – working his way back to Boston through all the places they had either holed up in, or had contact with Skitters or Mechs. It was his best and virtually only chance.

And at least this way, he wouldn't get _as_ lost.

The last few days had been a monumental screw-up on his part. He had stated when Hal had first brought Karen back that she wasn't to be trusted. But somehow hours later he'd ended up running away with her and almost getting himself re-harnessed or killed! He was going to have to be much more careful in future with any de-harnessed kids he met.

He'd almost got the entire 2nd Mass killed because of his actions. He knew that most of them didn't trust him anymore because of the fiasco with the red-eyed Skitter and talk of the Resistance. When they'd found out that he had been in communication with them… Ben had never seen his father so angry in his life. Not even when he'd managed to almost burn down the kitchen when he was nine, had Tom Mason been more furious.

So he'd come to the only conclusion he could come to – he had to leave. And he had to go alone.

It was hard not saying goodbye to his brothers, but Ben knew that if he'd said a word they would have gone to Dad and he never would have been able to leave. As it was though, his dad had managed to find out anyway. It was the strangest goodbye he'd ever had.

Here he was, a fifteen-year-old kid about to leave his family for the second time (the first time wasn't voluntary) and head off alone into a world where death was around every corner and it was his dad that was crying.

Ben walked for hours before coming across the abandoned hospital. His spikes remained dormant; the tell-tale warmth that spread through him when they were lit was absent. The hospital was eerily quiet, night having fully descended on the world only minutes before. He could hear no noises coming from within or nearby the building.

Closing his eyes, Ben breathed in and let his honed senses take over. To the right he could hear quick shuffling of something small – maybe a small animal or maybe even one of those disgusting spider-bugs. To his left he could hear the low mechanical moan of a Mech, but it was a very long distance away. He couldn't hear anything remotely resembling a Skitter.

Feeling that he was safe, Ben crouched low and made his way out of the tree line. He was going to have a quick look around the hospital before moving on. Thank god for his insanely good eyesight and the fact that he didn't exactly need to sleep anymore.

It wasn't until he reached the old airport that the first Mech and Skitter patrols made an appearance. Getting his gun to the ready, Ben prepared himself for the impending fight. He could do this. He _would _do this. He had promised his dad that he'd see him again and that was one promise he didn't intend on breaking.

_Here we go…_

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_Like a shooting star_

_Flyin' across the room_

_So fast, so far_

_You were gone too soon_

_You're part of me_

_And I'll never be_

_The same without you_

_You were gone too soon_

_-_Simple Plan: Gone Too Soon-

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**Well, there you have it! I hope you all enjoyed reading this rather long tag and hope that I managed to keep the characters relatively in-character :)**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-Rachel**


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